Maki is the name of my trackable that comes along to every cache I find. It’s a ring tailed lemur keychain, and I named her Maki because that is the word for ring tailed lemur in Malagasy.
Many of you may recognize the ring tailed lemur from the popular cartoon movie (and TV show) Madagascar. It is one of the most recognizable lemurs because of its long black and white striped tail, from which it gets its name.
A few facts about ring tailed lemurs:
- Like all other lemurs, they exclusively come from Madagascar and are found nowhere else in the world (in the wild)
- They are currently endangered with a continually decreasing population
- They are omnivorous and eat a varied diet of fruits, leaves, insects, and even chameleons
- Most of their time is spent on the ground (they are terrestrial) and they are diurnal
- Each troop is led by a dominant female
- The male ring tailed lemurs have scent glands on the inside of their wrists (spurs) that they use to mark territory
- Males use their wrist spurs in “stink fights”, in which they soak their tail with their scent and waft it toward their opponent (whichever male retreats first loses)
- Grooming plays an important role in social bonding
